If you’re brand new to Paleo, please do not get caught up in the details right out of the gate.

Don’t try to overthink your calories or your ratio of carbs, protein, and fat.

Transition in a way that feels sane to you. If your life is already stressful and you overwhelm yourself trying to get everything 100% Paleo Perfect* right out of the gate, you’re likely to find yourself in a fast food drive-thru lickety split! (*That's not a thing, by the way.)

Overwhelm is the death knell of any goal or plan. Think of it like this: You sprint out of the gate for a marathon, you're exhausted at mile 2, you simply can't go on any longer by mile 5, and you sit by the side of the road feeling frustrated, ashamed, and 100% certain you'll never run again.

This isn’t a race. You didn't gain weight overnight or develop an autoimmune condition in an instant. Take your time with this. Anything worth doing - and Paleo is definitely worth doing! - is worth taking the time to figure out what works best for you, your body, your lifestyle, family, goals, health conditions, preferences, etc. That may sound annoying but I truly believe Paleo can be the ticket out of dieting forever. It was for me and it has been for most of the clients I've worked with.

Although I went all-in with Paleo, I did eat a lot of Paleo treats in the beginning. Even though I was already gluten-free when I started Paleo in 2012, I needed the crutch of "better" baked goods to help me let go of all the processed gluten free goodies I was accustomed to. I still made it waaaay too hard at by cooking every day. I genuinely believe bulk cooking is the answer, especially in the beginning.

Within a couple of months, it felt easy. The fact that my energy was so much better helped a lot!

The goal is to create a repertoire of foods that you genuinely love. If you’ve been eating a standard American diet (SAD), you will need time for your palate/taste buds to adjust to real food. It will, I promise! Real food WILL start to taste delicious if you’re open-minded, curious, and genuinely want this to work.

Catch yourself if you hear yourself arguing for all the reasons you can’t make changes (time, money, family, travel, eating out, etc.).

You wouldn’t have come to Paleo if you didn’t have a compelling reason, right? Focus on what you CAN DO and what you are WILLING TO DO TODAY instead of focusing on all the things you feel you can’t do, buy, or change right now.

Focus on the future you envision when you have more energy and mental clarity and less joint pain, inflammation, blood sugar dysregulation, and excess weight.

Focus on your WHY. Make your best choice in each moment. Don’t try to be a Paleo perfectionist right away. Positive change happens quickly even though the scale may not more immediately. Focus on these non-scale victories!

Your future self will thank you, I guarantee it.

If you want to keep reading blogs, asking questions in the Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Facebook Group, that's great! But don't wait until you have ALL your questions answered before you dive in and start experimenting! Ok, with that out of the way, here are the bare bones basics, which is ALL you need to get started:

PALEO FOODS INCLUDE:

All meat (preferably organic, grass fed, pasture raised BUT all meat is Paleo)
All veggies (note: corn is a grain, and is not considered Paleo)
Including starchy veggies: sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, beets, parsnips, turnips, carrots
All fruit
All nuts and seeds
Healthy Fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, lard, tallow, ghee (clarified butter)
Sweeteners: Stevia, honey, real maple syrup, blackstrap molasses

PALEO DOES NOT INCLUDE:

Grains (some Paleo folks eat white rice but I wouldn’t start with it)
Dairy (except ghee and, for some people, butter)
Refined sugar
Highly processed foods
Industrial seed oils (canola, safflower, soybean - all of these are inflammatory)
Soy products
Artificial sweeteners (splenda, nutrasweet, etc.)

PRIMAL DIET:

Primal is an off-shoot of the Paleo diet and has a more expansive food list than Paleo.

THE PRIMAL DIET INCLUDES:

All Paleo foods (see above)
PLUS:
High quality dairy: grass fed yogurt, butter, ghee, heavy cream and even grass fed milk for those who can tolerate it
White rice

ALL THE INFO TO GET STARTED: PALEO DIET BOOKS, COOKING RESOURCES, AND MEAL PLANNING: https://www.primaltransformations.com/...

VIDEOS ON VARIOUS TOPICS: DINING OUT, CRAVINGS, PALEO BREAKFAST, AND HOW PALEO WORKS FOR WEIGHT LOSS: Primal Transformations YouTube Channel